Relatives of an American marine killed in Afghanistan during last year’s dramatic pullout have filed a second lawsuit against actor Alec Baldwin for allegedly subjecting them to mass online harassment after learning of their political views.
The widow and sisters of Marine Lance Corporal Rylee McCollum are seeking $25 million in damages, claiming that Baldwin is guilty of invasion of privacy, defamation, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The plaintiffs attempted to sue the actor in May in Wyoming, but the judge claimed to have no jurisdiction over Baldwin, who lives in New York. This time around, the lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York.
According to the plaintiffs, after the marine’s death, Baldwin found one of his sisters, Roice, on Instagram and donated through her a $5,000 check for the slain officer’s widow, Jiennah. However, when in January 2022 Roice posted a photo of herself attending a protest near the Washington Monument one year prior, the actor accused the woman of having participated in the Capitol Hill riots and branded her an “insurrectionist.”
The fallen marine’s sister also claims Baldwin sent her several direct messages on the platform, one of which allegedly read: “When I sent the $ for your late brother, out of real respect for his service to this country, I didn’t know you were a January 6th rioter.”
The actor also reposted Roice’s photo on his Instagram account, which boasts 2.4 million followers, describing her as someone involved in the January 6, 2021 protests, according to the lawsuit.
The woman alleges that before long she began receiving “hostile, aggressive, hateful messages” from Baldwin’s fans, who accused her of being a white supremacist and a Nazi. The actor also supposedly described Jiennah as an insurrectionist, even though the fallen marine’s widow was not even in Washington on January 6, 2021.
The complaint also suggests that some of Baldwin’s followers urged the widow to give back the $5,000 Baldwin had given her.
The plaintiffs insist “Baldwin’s conduct was negligent and reckless,” as he did nothing to stop his followers from targeting the women.
The actor himself has yet to comment on the new lawsuit.